Climate bulletin - August 2013

Summary of the world's climate in August 2013.

The global average temperature for August 2013 was 0.53 ± 0.23 °C above the 1961-1990 average (very similar to July). Sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the Tropical Pacific remained close to or below the long-term average, but together with other indicators, conditions were still El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral.

During August, much of North America and Eurasia was warmer than the 1961-1990 average. In the northern hemisphere only limited areas - the southeastern US, parts of India and tropical Africa - were cooler than average. Large areas of South America were cooler than average as was South Africa. In contrast, almost the whole of Australia was warmer than the long-term average.

Globally, SSTs were generally warmer than average. Cooler-than-average SSTs were observed in the eastern tropical Pacific, the northern Indian Ocean and other limited areas. Large areas of the north Pacific and North Atlantic were more than a degree warmer than average.